Chapter 648: Five Elements Immortal Arts

At this moment, within the brand-new shop, the familiar players sat side by side, their progress through the game naturally varying; while the elves had been wandering the slopes of Qingluan Peak for the better part of the day and were only now entering the Cave of Restless Souls, Helen and her fellow Golden Gryphon Knights had forged ahead far more rapidly, already triggering the cave’s guardian spirit.

These elves and mages had clearly not yet grasped the inner workings of the game, their current impressions lingering on the notion that the male protagonist was rather simple-minded, though he seemingly possessed a formidable father; furthermore, Tianhe’s fragmented recollections of his parents and that striking declaration that "heaven cannot bury, earth cannot destroy" had left them largely bewildered, their myriad conflicting emotions converging into a single thought: a deep frustration at his lack of promise.

Unlike in Assassin's Creed, where the two protagonists debuted as masters of their craft, this one was not only orphaned but entirely devoid of self-defense; though his naive honesty was admittedly quite endearing at times, this was now a matter of life and death!

Hearing Helen’s sharp cry, everyone nearby turned to look, staring intently at the terrifying guardian spirit upon her screen, wondering if this perilous turn of events might actually claim a life.

In this critical juncture, with the game reaching a fever pitch, Helen naturally paid no heed to her surroundings.

Finding herself once more in control of her character, she grabbed Han Lingsha beside her and took to her heels.

"Eh?" On the screen, Han Lingsha looked utterly perplexed. "Didn't you just say it wasn't as terrifying as your father?"

Helen’s face twitched in embarrassment: Sister, please be quiet, I am trying to protect you!

"Ah!!" Kuizhao summoned two ordinary guardian spirits, which swept toward the trio like a veil of pale, shimmering white mist, swift as a passing shadow!

Wild winds howled and sword-shadows roared around them; it was immediately apparent that flight was impossible, for their speed could never carry them out of the cave alive beneath Kuizhao’s spells.

With no escape left, their only recourse was to risk everything in a desperate struggle.

Having endured countless rigorous, almost superhuman training sessions in Assassin's Creed, she found that even though the power within her body was far from strong, it was at least present; she commanded Yun Tianhe to halt and spin around, slipping past Kuizhao’s strike in the blink of an eye as his blade thrust straight toward the entity.

"A hit!" Many of the onlookers' eyes lit up as they saw the adversary fail to evade the blow.

The strike aimed directly at a vital point; had this been Assassin's Creed, it would have been a flawless counter-kill!

Yet a moment later, everyone witnessed the longsword pass directly through the form, failing to inflict even the slightest shred of harm upon Kuizhao.

Instead, Kuizhao drifted right through Yun Tianhe’s body, sending a soul-piercing agony rippling through his entire being!

Unlike the ordinary and wind-based magical attacks of the original game, these guardian spirits clearly lacked physical forms; thus, in this system version, even a basic attack could wound the soul, or perhaps even shatter it entirely.

"I told you so!" Merlin remarked from the sidelines as he watched. "This is absolutely an alchemical creation! A high-level alchemical entity capable of negating damage and casting spells!"

On the screen, the Yun Tianhe controlled by Helen was clearly severely wounded, now being dragged along by Han Lingsha in a frantic retreat, while the gathering crowd instinctively turned their gaze toward Merlin: "You know what it is?"

"Of course!" Merlin believed his own judgment was sound in this regard. "This alchemical creation was undoubtedly fashioned to guard the tomb."

"Hmm...?" A group of mercenaries, knights, and elves began to find it strange; this "young man" did not look particularly old, so could it be...

"Are you an alchemist?"

"Of course!" Merlin felt tears welling up inside; at last, these few elves recognized true worth!

"Then do you have a way out of this?" Sera and several other young elves asked, their faces filled with anticipation.

"If I were to encounter it myself, of course I would." After all, he was a master alchemist, Merlin stated with a calm composure, finally basking in a long-awaited sense of being valued.

Let us see if that wretched shopkeeper still dares to treat him like a fraud!

"Then what about this..." Irina pointed at the two figures fleeing for their lives on the screen. "Is there any solution?"

"For this, none at all!" Merlin shook his head with absolute certainty.

"...Then why did you even speak!" Not only Irina, but even the elves cast glances of utter disdain toward him.

You young girls...!!?? How can you be like this? Do you not know the virtue of respecting your elders?!

Merlin’s face darkened as he pointed at the screen: "In a situation like this, even if a supreme powerhouse of the ninth tier were to arrive, there would be no way! How could just anyone conjure up a solution?"

He laid down the law directly.

Hardly had his voice fallen when Han Lingsha suddenly spoke on the screen: "No, if this continues, we will both die here. We can only treat a dead horse as if it were alive."

"Hey, calm your mind and listen to my chant, we will use immortal arts against it together!"

Everyone froze, completely bewildered by this turn of events.

"The Dao permeates the three realms as a single breath; heaven moves by this breath, and earth brings forth life by this breath..."

"The immortal arts connect through this breath!"

"What on earth is that?!"

Everyone was struck dumb by what they heard; were you two not supposed to be ignorant youths? How did you suddenly produce something so profound?!

Though they could not comprehend a single word, it only made the revelation seem all the more elevated!

Merlin, who had just asserted that no one could find a way, was instantly stupefied; with his mastery of magic, even facing an entirely different system, he could sense the power concealed within those mysterious and profound words.

"Water moistens downward, permeating every space; fire blazes upward, consuming all things; thunder restrains and gathers, shattering any defense; wind blows freely, obstructing nothing; earth nurtures and transforms, dissolving all matter!"

"Ah—!" Just as the chant concluded, Helen cried out aloud, "I think I've learned a spell!"

"What—?!" Merlin gasped in astonishment; how could such a thing even happen?!

What Han Lingsha was teaching now was the general principles of the Five Elemental Immortal Arts, and any spells learned thereafter would depend entirely on one's own comprehension of these principles.

This was precisely why they would later be able to master all manner of higher-level immortal arts.

In the system version of the game, players were granted an even greater degree of freedom in this regard.

For instance, because mastering a spell relied on the protagonist’s innate comprehension and the player’s own insights, a player could obtain entirely different results based on their unique understanding.

Of course, this could also be viewed as a lack of a formal foundation for these spells, which was supplemented by one's own traits, thereby resulting in the comprehension of an unorthodox spell, much like Helen's current situation...

She let out a startled cry as the spiritual energy circulated within her body in accordance with the incantation; her left palm pressed lightly against the edge of the blade as she uttered a soft cry: "Lightning Spell!"

A faint spark of electricity, following her command, adhered to the weapon, and the sword in Yun Tianhe’s hand instantly erupted with strands of pale blue lightning.

Though it was the same basic incantation and the exact same lightning spell, once derived from the general principles of the immortal arts, the manner in which different individuals manifested it proved entirely distinct.